Blueberry Cream Cheese Pie

Blueberry cream cheese pie is an unforgettable combination of cheesecake and blueberry pie.

Wild Maine blueberries top a layer of sweetened cream cheese and sour cream over a flaky, butter crust. Lemon spikes the entire pie beginning with the zest in the cream cheese and ending with the juice-tossed blueberries.

The cream cheese layer tastes exactly like cheesecake only with a softer, creamier texture. The blueberries sink partway down and the cream cheese envelopes them. The two meld as one into a melt-in-your-mouth filling with a sweet, tangy rush of flavors.

You may use fresh or frozen blueberries and if you can’t find wild Maine blueberries the regular variety will work just as well.

Plan ahead when making the pie because it needs a few hours of refrigeration before serving. Although in hindsight I’m curious about what it tastes like warm. I think I need to bake another one.

Use a pastry blender or two knives scissor fashion to cut half the butter into the flour until it resembles cornmeal. Cut in the rest of the butter until the largest pieces are the size of a dime.

Sprinkle ice water, one tablespoon at a time over flour mixture and use a fork to toss. Continue until the dough is moist enough to hold together, gather it into a ball, divide into 2 equal pars and flatten each one into a disk.

Wrap each disk in saran wrap and rest in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. On a floured surface roll out one of the disks into a 12"circle. Transfer to a 9" pie pan and trim off the edges with a paring knife.

Lightly prick the inside of the pie crust with a fork about an inch apart all over including the sides. Place a piece of parchment over the crust and fill with pie weights or dried beans.

While pie is cooking/cooling work on the braid. This tutorial on Martha Stewart shows you how. Roll out the leftover dough and cut with cookie cutters to decorate top.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl beat the cream cheese until creamy on medium speed about 3 minutes. Add sour cream, sugar, 1 of the eggs, vanilla, lemon zest and salt. Beat 2 minutes on low until well combined. Spread evenly over bottom of crust.

In a separate, large bowl toss blueberries with corn starch, sugar and lemon juice. Drop by spoonfuls over top of cream cheese as evenly as possible.

Whisk the remaining egg with a teaspoon of heavy cream or milk. Brush over edges of pie and add the braid. Brush the top of the braid with egg wash. Place the cookie cutter shapes if using. Brush them too.

Bake 45-50 minutes until top is set. Remove to wire rack to cool about 2 hours. Refrigerate overnight or 4-6 hours before serving.